Moore College of Art & Design congratulates alumna Devin Pauley ’11, who has been named a Designer-in-Residence for the second year of the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator (PFI) at Macy’s Center City. The fashion initiative, created to help foster and support emerging local fashion design talent, enters into its second residency on the heels of a widely successful inaugural year.

The first class of Designers-in-Residence, featuring Moore alumna Melissa D’Agostino ’02, celebrated the conclusion of their year-long residency on March 1, 2013 and helped welcome the new 2013 class of emerging designers during a press event at Macy’s Center City.

“The immense progress and growth that I have seen in each designer since the program launched last March is absolutely astonishing,” said Elissa Bloom, executive director of the PFIMCC, in a statement. “I am excited to see what the future has in store for the 2012 DIRs and am thrilled to embark on a new year with five talented designers.”

The new class of designers now has access to the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator’s 800+ square-foot Project Runway-inspired production room, office and showroom housed in Macy’s Center City. For the next year, they will receive business mentoring from some of the region’s leading business professionals, as well as workshops and retail critiques with the fashion industry’s most celebrated talent.

The program is a collaboration between The City of Philadelphia, Center City District, Macy’s Center City and several educational institutions devoted to fashion design in Philadelphia, including Moore College of Art & Design, Drexel University and Philadelphia University.

In the coming year, Designers-in-Residence will also participate in various fashion events including pop-up shops, trunk shows and a fashion show during the city’s annual week-long fashion celebration, The Philadelphia Collection.

Pauley graduated from Moore in 2011 with a major in fashion design and a minor in textile design. She won the Menswear Critic Award for Most Saleable Collection in 2010; the Fashion Design Major with a Textile Design Minor Award in 2011; and the Original Fabric Design for Eveningwear Honorable Mention in 2011.

Pauley is sole designer and owner of Morgia Bridal Couture in Philadelphia. She has built her business part time while working full time at Kevin O’Brien Studio. She is now full-time in her business.

"Being named Designer-in-Residence is such a huge honor and I feel it's going to be an exciting year really focusing on the business part of Morgia and gaining feedback from people who know so much about running a business," Pauley said.

Morgia Bridal is a collection of made-to-order gowns for the modern bride. Every gown is hand patterned, sewn and constructed in the US and the attention to every detail is based on the client’s feedback. Morgia Bridal also offers custom ‘Dream Gowns’ and a collection of cleanly cut, elegant designs. Pauley has presented her collections at RAW Artists Philadelphia, Philadelphia Fashion Week, and Small Boutique Fashion Week, a part of New York Fashion Week.

"Moore really prepared me well design-wise," Pauley said. "They helped me narrow down what aspect of design I wanted to focus on and what it takes to take a vision and make it into reality. Moore pushed me very hard in meeting strict deadlines and presenting myself as a professional designer."

"Devin's concept for her bridal line originated in her senior design class with Linda Wisner," said Janice Lewis, chair of the Fashion Design department at Moore. "She is perfectly poised to use the financial, marketing, branding and manufacturing advice that will come with the designer in residence position. She's also a tireless and talented person!"

About Philadelphia Fashion Incubator at Macy’s Center City

A collaboration between The City of Philadelphia, Center City District, Macy’s Center City and several educational institutions devoted to fashion design in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Fashion Incubator at Macy’s Center City (PFIMCC) is a 501 (c) (3) organization that provides select aspiring designers the workspace and essential business resources needed to run successful and sustainable fashion companies in Philadelphia. PFI encourages full support of local businesses and organizations across the city in order to achieve its mission of developing a business-savvy foundation for the growth of the Philadelphia fashion industry.
Learn more by visiting www.philadelphiafashionincubator.com.

###

Moore College of Art & Design educates students for inspiring careers in art and design. Founded in 1848, Moore is the nation's first and only women's art college. Moore's career-focused environment and professionally active faculty form a dynamic community in the heart of Philadelphia's cultural district. The College offers nine Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees for women. A coeducational Graduate Studies program was launched in summer, 2009. In addition, Moore provides many valuable opportunities in the arts through The Galleries at Moore, a Continuing Education Certificate program for adults, the 91-year-old acclaimed Youth Art Program for girls and boys grades 1-12, The Art Shop and the Sculpture Park. For more information about Moore, visit www.moore.edu.

Read more about Devin Pauley here and vist her website
Watch a video about the Designers-in-Residence on ABC
Watch a video on NBC